


paradise is very fragile

by captainrexsupremacy



Category: Marvel, Wolverine (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Injury, Logan is a softy and we all know it! He can't hide from us!, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plot, Protective Logan (X-Men), Rating May Change, Tags Are Hard, like seriously don't try to place this in the timeline it will hurt your head, may contain smut eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:41:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27664871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainrexsupremacy/pseuds/captainrexsupremacy
Summary: Iris, a mutant with the ability to heal others and advanced strength, has been running from her mutant abilities for a long time. Everything changes when she is offered a place with the X-Men. She settles into her place amongst the other mutants very quickly. On a routine mission, Magneto witnesses her using her healing abilities, and decides he wants her on his side. He'll do whatever he can to get her.Fair amount of the plot will be focused on the relationship between Iris and Logan :)
Relationships: Logan (X-Men)/Original Female Character, Logan (X-Men)/Reader, Wolverine/OC
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter 1

The small, dingy dive bar was never very busy. Located in a small town in northern British Columbia, how could it be? The décor had not been updated since the 1970’s, the air smelled of stale beer, and the floor was always just a little bit sticky. While at one point, it may have been considered a respectable establishment, attracting a crowd of local youths and doing good business. Those days were long gone. These days, the bar attracted a more regular crowd of criminals, alcoholics, and those looking to not be noticed. 

While Iris certainly fell into the latter category, she wasn’t a patron of the bar. She had shown up around 5 years earlier looking for work, and something about the desperation on her face had convinced Bruce, the surly bar owner, to give her a chance. She had worked there as a bartender ever since, and she was excellent at her job. 

She was familiar with all the regulars who frequented the place, given that the same crowd tended to show up almost nightly every night. Very rarely did an outsider visit, which worked for Iris just fine. The last thing she needed was to be bothered, or worse: discovered. Her position was precarious enough. 

So, when Iris noticed that there were two groups of people in the bar she had never seen in her life, she noticed. A strange man and woman sat in a back corner talking under their breath. The woman was slight, with dark skin, attractive features, and white hair, that caused other patrons to sneak furtive glances at her. Her companion was large, broad chested, and handsome. He spoke out of the side of his mouth, where he held a cigar. The man looked as though he did not want to be there. He looked up and made eye contact with Iris for a moment before she quickly looked away. 

The other group was a group of four men, who at that moment approached the bar. 

“Hey doll,” said the tallest of the men, grinning in a fashion that showed his yellowing teeth. The smell of beer on his breath suggested he had been drinking before he showed up. 

“Be a dear would you and get a round of beer for the boys and I, will ya?” he asked, running his gaze up and down Iris’s small frame in a way that made her stomach turn. She made no comment, simply turning around to fetch the men their drinks. The last thing she wanted was some kind of incident. 

Most of the rest of Iris’s shift went without incident, and she put the strangers out of her mind. She was wiping down the bar when the group of men approached her again. The one who had ordered for the group addressed her again. 

“Well haven’t you just been working hard all-night, sweetheart,” he observed. 

“I certainly try to,” agreed Iris, guardedly. 

“What say you come with us and have a little fun, darling?” proposed the man smugly. Iris couldn’t help noticing that the man was very inebriated at this point. A raucous laugh went up among his companions. 

“Thank you for the generous offer sir,” laughed Iris nervously. “But no thank you, I’m very tired.” 

The smug look slid from the man’s sallow face, which twisted into a snarl. 

“You little bitch, you think you’re too good for us?” he spat. 

“No, sir, I just-” began Iris. 

“I say we teach this little bitch a lesson,” interrupted one of the men, earning a round of vicious laughter from the group. 

The next series of events happened so quickly that Iris could barely process it. The man reached out and roughly grabbed on to Iris’s arm, and the two other strangers across the bar stood up abruptly. Before they could even react, Iris shoved the man away reflexively, and heard a sickening crunch of bone that made her stomach drop. 

The man howled in pain and dropped to the ground, and the patrons of the bar looked to her, stunned. The other strangers gave each other a significant look and crossed the bar towards them. 

“I’m sorry! I can fix this!” cried Iris, slightly panicked. She hopped over the bar and got down on the floor with the injured man, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt and holding her bare hand to his skin for a short moment. The bones in the man’s arm immediately healed, fusing back into place. 

The bar was silent for a short moment. Then the man, now healed, stood up quickly and yelled, 

“She’s one of ‘em mutant freaks!” 

The bar exploded in an uproar, and he kicked her square in the face one the ground where she still sat. The strange duo who had sat silently across the bar the whole evening reacted swiftly. Three long silver claws had extended from the man’s hand, and he now pointed them at Iris’s attacker. 

“You think you might wanna step back there, bub?” threatened the mutant, his claws dangerously close to grazing the man’s throat. The man complied quickly, looking as though he might wet himself. His female companion kindly offered Iris a hand, helping her up. 

“Thats enough!” a gruff voice cut across the bar. Bruce, the owner, had materialized from the back with his gun in hand, pointing it at all of them. 

“I want all of you freaks out of my bar, and don’t let me catch you here ever again,” declared Bruce. 

Iris immediately started, “Bruce, I-” 

“All of you, Iris!” repeated Bruce angrily, looking her dead in the eye. “And don’t come back!” 

Iris stood there for a moment, stunned by this dismissal. Bruce had never been the kindest man, but he had always been good to her. Tears began to well up in her eyes and threatened to spill. She blinked them away and turned quickly, storming out of the building. 

She had almost made it past the parking lot before she realized she was being followed. She spun around quickly. 

“What do you want?” she yelled at her pursuers. It was the mysterious man and woman who had come to her aid in the bar. 

“To help you,” said the woman, gently. “We are like you, and we have a place where you can come and be safe.” 

Iris considered this for a moment and scoffed. 

“If you’re really like me, then you know that there isn’t anywhere safe for us.” 

“That’s not true” insisted the woman. “It’s a school for mutants, run by Professor Charles Xavier. You can be safe there” 

Iris rolled her eyes. “I’m 24, isn’t that a little old to go to your school?” she asked. 

“You wouldn’t be a student. But we could help you figure out how to control and use your powers in a constructive way,” offered the woman. 

Iris considered this for a moment. “What makes you think that I want to use my powers?” she asked, somewhat defiantly. She winced internally, realizing how childish her statement was. 

The man shook his head. “I told the Professor this would be a waste of time. Let’s leave her alone, Storm.” 

The woman, Storm, shook her head. “Shut up, Logan. Where is she supposed to go now, anyways?” She turned her attention back to Iris. Iris had begun to tear up again at the reminder of how her whole life had just collapsed, and she looked away from the woman, staring pointedly at the ground. 

“Please, Iris, just come with us,” the woman asked again gently, looking at her. “You don’t have to stay if you don’t like it.” 

Iris considered all her options. Everybody who was in the bar tonight now knew that she was a mutant. She was unemployed now, too. What did she really have to lose? 

“Fine. I’ll come with you. But only because I can’t stay here anymore.” 

Storm smiled at her. “Good! I guess we should introduce ourselves properly. My name is Ororo, but I also go by Storm. Either name is fine. This is Logan, although some people call him Wolverine.” 

“Logan is fine,” interjected the man, gruffly. 

“I don’t have to come up with a stupid nickname, do I?” asked Iris apprehensively. 

“Okay, maybe this one will be fun,” Logan laughed. 

Storm shook her head. “We should get out of here guys, we caused quite a scene back there earlier.” 

Iris nodded. “I need to go home first. Grab some things. Then we can go.”


	2. Chapter 2

“What kind of school needs a jet?” asked Iris incredulously, when Ororo and Logan led her to the jet in question. Logan shrugged. 

“It’s a weird school,” He said, as though this was a sufficient explanation, and he head up the ramp ahead of the two ladies. Iris turned to take one last look out at the town she had been staying in for the past 5 years and took in a shaky breath. 

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” reassured Ororo, placing a comforting hand on Iris’s shoulder. Iris nodded and followed her onto the jet. 

As she settled into the seat next to Logan and buckled her seatbelt, she realized she didn’t even know where she was going. 

“So where is this school?” she asked. 

“Westchester, New York,” answered Logan, without looking at her. 

“New York? I’m a Canadian citizen, you know, I can’t just move to New York!” said Iris. 

Logan regarded her, amused. 

“We’re taking you to a school for mutants, and your biggest concern is immigration laws?” he asked. 

Iris blushed a little, and Logan laughed. 

“You’ll be fine. I’m technically Canadian too. Nobody has ever asked,” he reassured her, smiling in a way that made her breath catch in her chest for a moment. He was very handsome, if maybe a little rough around the edges. 

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, as the jet took off. From the corner of her eye, Iris noticed Logan tightly grip the arm of his chair for a moment. 

“Don’t like flying?” she asked. 

“Not in particular,” admitted Logan. 

“That’s his way of saying he’s afraid of it,” teased Storm, causing Iris to laugh lightly at annoyed scowl on Logan’s face. He clearly wanted to change the subject, so he did. 

“So how does your thing work?” he asked. “The healing. And the strength?” 

Iris considered the question for a moment. 

“As far as I can tell, I can heal most injuries with skin-on-skin contact. The more severe the injury, the longer I have to maintain contact. I haven’t used it much, to be honest,” she explained. 

“Can you heal yourself?” he asked, curious. 

“No. I can’t heal my own injuries, unfortunately,” she replied. 

“I guess that’s just Logan’s thing,” said Storm, looking back at the two of them over her shoulder. 

“Oh? How fast can you heal?” asked Iris, curiously. 

Logan chuckled, and then considered her for a moment. 

“Do you get queasy easily?” he asked her. 

“No, not really, why?” she responded suspiciously. 

At that, three long metal claws emerged from Logan’s knuckles, and he carefully sliced a long cut up his other arm. Before Iris could even react, the gash disappeared. 

“Oh,” she said, somewhat breathless. “Very fast.” 

“Yes,” he agreed with a satisfied smirk. “Very fast.” 

Iris turned her attention to his claws. 

“How do they work?” she asked, pointing at them. 

“They’re my bones. Well, they used to be,” he responded. 

“Used to be,” Iris echoed, not quite understanding. 

“They’re made of adamantium,” he began, carefully. “My bones are still inside of them. But my whole skeleton is coated in the stuff. It’s a long story. Anyways, didn’t I ask about you first? Exactly how strong are you?” 

The quick change of subject was not lost on Iris. Clearly, this was a sensitive spot for him. For a moment, she considered stubbornly pressing him for details, but thought better of it. 

“I don’t know how strong I am,” she admitted. “I don’t normally use my abilities on purpose, like I said earlier. All they do is cause me trouble.” 

“Well, what’s the heaviest thing you’ve been able to lift?” asked Storm. 

Images of a snowy day and a flipped car flickered to the forefront of Iris’s memory. She blinked the painful images away. Logan and Storm looked at her expectantly. Iris sighed. 

“I was with my family, driving home from a church function about 5 years ago. We lived in rural southern Ontario in the middle of nowhere, most of the route home was through farmland,” she began, deciding she’d have to tell her story at some point anyways. 

“It began to snow pretty hard; visibility was poor, and the roads were slippery. We came across a family whose car had slid off the road and into a ditch. The car had flipped over, and the family was trapped inside. Dad pulled over to try and help.” 

“By this point I had already known about my abilities for a few years, but I hadn’t told anybody. My family wasn’t all that tolerant, if I’m being honest. I’d grown up hearing them say terrible things about mutants my whole life. I knew they’d be upset if they found out, so I kept it to myself, tried not to draw attention to my strength, never used my healing abilities. But I knew that if I didn’t help the family that they might die before other help could show up.” Iris took a deep breath to steady herself, and Storm gave her a reassuring nod. She continued. 

“I ripped the door off the car and lifted the car off the ground part-way so the family could crawl out. They were alright, more or less, aside from some scratches and bruises. Their son had a pretty good gash on his forehead though. I figured since the cat was out of the bag, I may as well heal them.” 

“That was very brave of you, Iris,” praised Storm. “Who knows what would have happened if you weren’t there?” 

“I’m glad you think so,” Iris smiled bleakly. “My parents didn’t agree with you, sadly. They didn’t say anything until we got home, though. As soon as we got through the door, they started screaming at me. Calling me a freak and all that, wondering what would happen if people found out they had a mutant daughter. They figured I must have sinned horribly for God to punish us like this. Dad smacked me hard across the face and told me I had 24 hours to leave.” Iris’s eyes began to water, and she drew in a shaky breath. 

Logan considered her with a look that Iris couldn’t decipher the meaning of. 

“Well. I say fuck ‘em then,” he declared. 

Iris gave a watery laugh. “Yeah. Fuck ‘em,” she agreed. “So, what can you do, Storm?” she asked as she wiped her eyes, desperate to take the attention off herself. 

“I’ll show you at the mansion,” chuckled Storm. “Let’s just say I come by my name honestly.” 

The rest of the flight was spent in a comfortable silence. Iris even dozed off a few times, exhausted as she was after the events of the day. In what felt like no time at all, Storm was gently shaking her awake. 

“Come on hon,” she said. “We’re home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listen dialogue is hard :( but I wanted to use this chapter to establish Iris's background a little bit :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris has adjusted well to life at the mansion. Charles has a favour to ask of Iris. Logan voices his concerns.

Iris’s fist connected with Logan’s stomach with a dull crunch, and he skidded back a few feet. He took a few moments to regroup, then shook his head. 

“Is that the best you can do?” he asked, sliding back into a loose defensive stance. 

“No,” teased Iris. “My best would kill you.” 

“Not even you could do that,” retorted Logan, lunging forward in an attack that Iris barely dodged. She stumbled backward for a moment and fell back, landing flat on her ass. 

Logan threw his head back in laughter, which made Iris pout. 

“Okay you two that’s enough, the Professor wants to talk to Iris,” interrupted Jean, who had been watching this scene unfold from the sidelines with an amused, if not slightly exasperated expression. 

Logan offered Iris a hand, which she took, using it to haul herself back to her feet. She gave him a small smile, which he returned easily. 

Iris had been at the mansion for around a month now and showed no signs of wanting to leave yet. She had been finding lots of ways to keep herself busy. When Professor Xavier had realized her proficiency in biology, he had immediately asked if she might help tutor some of the students on a casual basis, which she had agreed to easily. She was even considering applying to college, with the professor’s support. 

When she wasn’t doing that, she was training, growing accustomed to using her considerable strength. After a few incidents where her sparring partners ended up with broken bones (which she had of course healed immediately), her training sessions had ended up mainly being with Logan, who was “far less breakable,” in his words. This meant the two mutants naturally spent a fair amount of their time together, and Iris easily considered Logan to be the best friend she had at the mansion. Hell, he was her best friend in general, if she was being honest. Not that she’d admit it though. 

“Do you have any idea what the professor wants?” she asked, as the three of them trudged back towards the mansion. 

“He didn’t say,” replied Jean. “Seemed like it was important though,” she added as they approached the door. 

“Guess I better hurry then,” murmured Iris, more to herself than anyone else. She waved at Logan and Jean with a smile and took off towards the professor’s office at a jog. 

She stopped outside the door, but before she could knock, she heard Charles Xavier’s voice from inside call, 

“Come in, Iris.” 

Iris let herself in. 

“Jean said you wanted to see me?” she asked, shutting the door behind her. 

“Yes, I need to ask you a favour,” he replied. 

“A favour?” repeated Iris, somewhat perplexed. She couldn’t imagine what the Professor could possibly need from her, but she resolved to help him anyways. 

“Don’t make your decision before you hear what I need from you,” said Charles, answering her thoughts. 

“Well, what do you need?” she replied aloud, still not used to how he could read her thoughts. 

Charles motioned for her to sit in the chair across from him at his desk. Iris complied, fixing him with a questioning gaze. 

“Tomorrow, a conference is being held to propose a new supermax prison, designed to hold mutant offenders,” he began. 

Iris blinked slowly, contemplating this information. It made sense that normal facilities wouldn’t necessarily be equipped to hold certain mutant prisoners. But the idea of a supermax prison built with the express intention of holding mutants... Iris wasn’t so sure she trusted any government with properly using a facility like that. 

“You aren’t alone in this feeling of mistrust,” agreed Charles, acknowledging the thought. “I personally don’t think it is the most ethical idea. But other mutants, who are prone to acting much less reasonable than you and I are also not pleased.” 

“What do you mean?” asked Iris, carefully. 

“You have heard of the mutant Magneto by now, I presume?” he asked, as though he didn’t already know the answer. 

“Yes, I’ve heard of him,” agreed Iris. “I know he can manipulate metal, and that he’s dangerous. I know he’s the leader of a group of mutant supremacists, too. I haven’t heard much more than that, though.” 

“You are quite correct,” said Charles. “And I have learned that he and his brotherhood of mutants, as he calls them, have plans to... disrupt tomorrow’s conference.” 

“When you say disrupt...” started Iris, trailing off before she could finish her thought. 

“He plans to exhibit a violent display of power, so as to deter anybody who would go forward with building a prison like the one proposed. Unfortunately, any violent action he might take at a public event like this will only serve to further convince the government and the public that a prison like this is needed,” Charles explained. 

Iris contemplated this for a moment. 

“So, what do you want me to do then?” she asked, carefully. 

“I understand that you are new, and haven’t received much training,” he began. “But I am sending a team to the conference to stop Magneto from causing any irreversible damage. His brotherhood of mutants are dangerous, and with that, it is almost inevitable that people, both mutant and human, will be injured if they stand in his way.” 

“Your healing powers would be invaluable in this situation. I understand what the personal risks to you would be, but if you agree to go, I believe you could make a difference,” he finished. 

Iris didn’t even think before answering. 

“Of course I’ll go, I want to help!” she agreed quickly. “Besides, I’ve been training with Logan enough that I think I can at least hold my own by now.” 

Charles smiled warmly at her. 

“Thank you, Iris. I appreciate this. I’ll let you go now, if you talk to either Ororo or Jean they will tell you what you need to know and set you up with a uniform we had made for you.” 

“No problem Professor,” she grinned. “But you have to cancel tomorrow’s tutoring sessions for me.” 

\---- 

That night, after thoroughly discussing the mission with Storm, Iris felt restless. She had tried and failed to go to bed early, and instead found herself wandering the dark halls aimlessly. 

Her wandering brought her to the kitchen. She decided she might as well get something to drink, since she was clearly not going to bed any time soon. 

She opened a random cupboard, hoping to find something good. Sure enough, there were bottles of sodas sitting on the top shelf. She sighed. At her whopping height of 5’3, the top shelf was a long-standing enemy of hers, constantly dangling its contents just out of her reach. 

Just as she had resolved to climb up onto the counter to reach her prize, a tall figure reached over her and pulled out two of the bottles, setting them on the counter. She turned around to find Logan looking at her with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, clearly amused by her plight. 

She couldn’t help but notice how close he was. She shook the thought from her head and grabbed one of the bottles from the counter, opening it. 

“Thanks,” she said, holding up her bottle in a sort of salute. 

“Couldn’t bear to watch you struggle,” he teased, as he retreated to one of the seats by the kitchen island. Shaking her head, she followed, taking the seat next to him. 

“Can’t sleep?” he asked. She nodded her agreement. 

“The Professor asked me to tag along to the prison conference tomorrow,” she confided. “I guess there’s just a lot on my mind.” 

Logan's brows knitted together in concern, and he frowned deeply. 

“Is he certain that’s a good idea, this early into your training?” he inquired gruffly. It was Iris’s turn to frown, annoyed by this lack of faith. 

“Yes, he seems to think so. Besides, people might get hurt. I need to be there to help them,” she reasoned. 

“And if you get hurt? Then what? You can’t heal yourself,” argued Logan. Iris rolled her eyes. 

“I’ll be fine, Logan. I seem to hold my own against you, don’t I?” she answered. “You seem to be forgetting that I can lift cars.” 

“Yeah, well I’m not trying to kill you, am I?” retorted Logan, setting his drink down harder than was strictly necessary. “And you seem to be forgetting that your strength doesn’t stop you from getting injured like everybody else!” 

“Stop acting like I don’t understand the risks! I’m not a child, Logan,” Iris shot back. His expression softened a little, almost imperceptible. 

“You don’t know what these guys are like. They’re nasty, vicious. Just... be careful,” he sighed, seeming to realize he wasn’t going to win this argument. 

“I’m always careful,” Iris replied quietly. His concern for her wellbeing made her chest flutter in a way she wasn’t sure she wanted to examine at that moment. She pushed away from the counter. “Anyways, I think I’m tired enough to sleep now,” she announced. 

“’Night,” said Logan, also standing. 

“Goodnight Logan,” she replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conference goes as expected. Iris catches Magneto's attention.

The conference was held outdoors, with a stage set up in a large open field to allow interested members of the public to attend, should they wish to. Surely intended as a strategy to gain public support, the possible danger that could be posed by angry mutants seemed to have been overlooked. Either way, it was helpful in that it allowed the X-Men to slip in and spread amongst the crowd to look for danger, unnoticed. 

Iris had the best intentions of avoiding any direct conflict that was to arise at the conference. She was only asked to tag along because of her healing abilities, and Logan had raised a pretty good point the previous night, as unlikely as she was to ever admit it. Her super strength would not stop her from getting hurt. 

In practice, it turned out to be a lot less simple than that. The conference had begun somewhat uneventfully, if you didn’t count the vile anti-mutant rhetoric being spewed by the speakers. Iris could imagine the satisfaction on her father’s face if he were to hear about the collars that were proposed that had the ability to suppress any mutant’s powers. Clearly, she wasn’t the only person who found this concept upsetting, since just as the prototype was about to be revealed, the crowd erupted into chaos. 

An explosion had gone off near the stage. Iris looked around frantically, unsure of what had caused the explosion. A team of mutants had arrived, led by an elderly gentleman who floated gracefully towards them, instead of walking. He surveyed the chaotic scene, seeming almost amused by the chaos of the scattering crowd. 

Iris turned her attention towards the stage. There were people injured, both from the stage and amongst the audience. Without a second thought she took off towards the site of the explosion, and got to work, pressing her hand to the face of a wounded man. 

From there, she was barely aware of her surroundings, just doing what she needed to do. The people she saw were in varying states of distress, and she attempted to visually triage the injured, so she could help those in the most pain first. In her survey, she noticed a woman who had been severely burnt, laying on the ground with her eyes wide open, unseeing. There was nothing Iris could do for the dead. She swallowed hard and exhaled a deep breath, then turned to her next patient. 

As she did what she could to assist the wounded humans, part of Iris’s mind registered that there was fighting around her. While she worked, she saw Jean dodge an attack from an unusually large man, who was knocked down by a red beam of light released by Scott. She noticed the wind begin to pick up and the sky begin to darken, no doubt Storm’s handiwork. As she healed a burn on a man who wore a shirt that expressed anti-mutant sentiment, she witnessed Logan burying his claws into the chest of a mutant who had tried to spit acid at him. 

It had been going as smoothly as anybody could expect such a conflict to go. In hindsight, Iris should have expected that this was too good to be true. As she turned away from the man she had just finished healing, she was barely able to duck out of the way of a sharp spike of glass that was shot in her direction. 

She spun to face her attacker. The woman was small in stature, unassuming. However, she was not to be mistaken for harmless, as she grinned wickedly, and another spike materialized in her empty right hand. Iris had to duck again to avoid the spike as it was hurled at her, just missing her again. 

Knowing she had better odds in close range combat, she charged towards the woman, dodging spikes that she threw as she retreated backwards. A yelp of pain from Jean distracted her momentarily, as she automatically looked towards the source of the sound. Her adversary took advantage of her distraction, hurling yet another spike. This time, Iris was too slow to get out of the way and it lodged in her upper arm, causing her to cry out in pain. 

Howling in pain, she wrenched the spike out of her arm and flung it back towards the woman with all her strength. It hit the woman in her upper should and flew clean through it, and the woman dropped to the ground. 

Pressing a hand down on her heavily bleeding arm, Iris spun around and ran over to Jean’s aid. She was sporting a deep cut on her side, nothing Iris couldn’t handle in a matter of seconds. As she arrived at her friend’s side, Jean’s eyes locked onto Iris’s wounded arm, concerned. 

“Iris, what happened?” she asked, unable to tear her eyes off the heavily bleeding wound. 

“It’s fine,” lied Iris, offering her hand to Jean, who took it. The cut on her side disappeared almost instantly. 

“That’s not ‘fine’, Iris,” argued Jean, not allowing herself to be fooled so easily. “You need to get out of here.” 

Iris shook her head fervently. How could she leave while her friends were still in danger? The concept was unthinkable. 

Iris didn’t even get a chance to argue her case though. In fact, she barely had time to throw herself out of the way as a large steel beam came down between her and Jean, and a small narrow band of metal wrapped itself tightly around the wrist on her injured arm and dragged her into the air, where she flew towards the elderly gentleman that had led the charge, who was flanked by two other mutants. Magneto, she thought to herself in horror. 

She looked back frantically towards Jean and saw she had already been engaged by two other mutants. She was on her own. 

“Forgive me for dragging you over here so abruptly,” began Magneto, who seemed wholly unconcerned by her struggling to free herself from the metal band that kept her suspended above the ground. “But did I just watch you heal Miss Grey by simply touching her?” 

Iris gave up her useless struggle, exhausted as she was by pain, blood loss, and overexertion. She settled for shooting a cold glare at the man. 

“You have nothing to fear from me if you cooperate, my dear,” he assured her, awaiting her answer. But before she could even consider whether she’d answer him, she noticed Logan barreling towards her with his claws extended from the corner of her eye. Before he could get anywhere close, he was immobilized, unable to move a muscle. 

Magneto calmly hoisted Logan into the air using the adamantium that ran through his whole body, pulling him forward to join them. 

“Wolverine, I would have thought you’d know better by now,” he taunted. 

“Put her down, Magneto,” Logan growled, hardly able to move his jaw to form the words. 

“How disappointing. I’d have thought Charles would have taught you that it’s rude to interrupt other people’s conversations while he was house training you,” smiled Magneto drily, turning back to face Iris. “Now where were we, dear? Oh yes, you were just about to tell me about how your little healing ability works?” 

“I’m not telling you shit,” spat Iris, glancing sideways at Logan, concerned. This motion was not lost on Magneto. Something seemed to click for him, and he sighed in faux disappointment. 

“My dear, I wish you could have made this easier on all of us. This is the last thing I wanted to do, I assure you,” he spoke, as if he felt true remorse. It couldn’t be more clear how far from the truth this was. 

With a single motion of his hand, Magneto began to bend Logan’s claws outward from one another, causing him to cry out in pain. 

“Wait, stop!” cried Iris, but Magneto kept going, as if he couldn’t hear her. “Please, stop!” tears had begun to stream down her face as Logan grunted in pain, his claws twisting away from each other slowly. 

“I have healing abilities; I can heal almost any wound with skin-on-skin contact, just not my own!” she yelled, and at that Logan’s claws swiftly returned to their proper position. 

Magneto fixed her with a careful stare. 

“What a marvelous ability you have,” he remarked. “Yet you use it in service of humans, who would see you in one of those collars sooner than do anything to help you.” 

“That’s not true, Iris,” grunted Logan. Magneto shot a glare at him. 

“I told you not to interrupt, Wolverine,” he spat, with a motion sent him flying backwards at an incredible speed. Iris whimpered weakly in concern, but at this point she was having a hard time remaining conscious. She was still bleeding rather hard and knew she would be in trouble if she didn’t receive medical attention soon. 

Suddenly, the mutant standing to Magneto’s right spoke. 

“Put her down, Erik,” he said, in a voice that didn’t seem quite his own. Magneto stiffened. 

“Trust you to interfere when your friends are losing, Charles,” he replied, calmly. Iris looked around as much as she could and noticed that everyone aside from her friends had frozen in place, as if time had stopped. 

“End this now, Erik,” demanded Charles, speaking through the mutant again. Magneto glanced up as the other X-Men, no longer occupied by members of the brotherhood, turned and advanced on him. He curled his lip in distaste, but seemed to realize that he was beat. 

“Fine. If you let us leave in peace, that is. If not I might as well kill the girl now, old friend,” threatened Magneto. 

“You may go in peace. Just put her down,” instructed Charles, through the mutant. At his word, the circle of metal opened, dropping Iris onto the ground. Magneto looked at her where she crumpled on the ground, considering her for a moment. 

“I want you to think about who you are fighting for, Iris,” he instructed, softly. “Ask yourself why you would protect those who advocate for your oppression. And remember, there will always be a place in the brotherhood for someone with your talents.” He spun away, his cape fluttering behind him, and at that, Iris’s vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today I learned writing combat is kinda hard tho :-/


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris wakes up to find Logan at her side. She realizes some things. Logan has reservations.

When Iris awoke, her first thought was that she felt as though she had been hit by a truck. Her second thought was that she was not alone. 

She turned her head to face Logan, who was sitting in a chair by her bedside, staring at the floor. 

“Hey,” she said quietly, her voice coming out scratchy and much weaker than she expected it to. Logan looked up sharply, relief flooding his features. “How long was I out?” Iris asked, looking around, seeing that she was clearly in the medical facility back at the mansion. 

“You were out for a few days,” Logan replied gruffly. “Jean had you pretty drugged up on painkillers though. Bet you’re still feeling those.” 

Iris struggled to sit up, and he moved forward and placed a guiding hand behind her back, gently helping her into a sitting position. 

“Actually, I kind of feel like shit,” she admitted, giving him a small smile in gratitude. 

“I’ll call Jean, she can give you more drugs,” offered Logan, concerned. 

“No, don’t. It’s fine,” she insisted. “I just want to know what happened.” 

“After the Professor intervened, Magneto and his people just left. Not that I was there for that, I was impaled on a tree branch two blocks over. Nothing you should worry about,” he reassured her, seeing the horrified look on her face at this piece of information. 

“Anyways, your arm got pretty fucked up. Needed surgery and a blood transfusion, but Jean seems to have put you back together pretty nicely. What even happened to you?” he asked. 

“Some bitch threw a spike into my arm,” she answered. He clenched his jaw. 

“Who?” he asked, tense. 

“I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I may have killed her, either way,” replied Iris. 

“Good. Saves me hunting her down myself,” muttered Logan. Iris smiled at him. She remembered a question she had for him. 

“Why did you charge at Magneto, Logan? Your skeleton is coated in metal, you had to know how that was going to end,” she asked. Logan looked almost sheepish, if that was even possible for him. 

“I wasn’t really thinking about that when I saw him dangling you in the air, covered in your own blood, Iris,” he replied. 

“He hurt you,” she said, quietly. He shook his head and stuck out his claws for her inspection. They were as perfectly straight and sharp as ever. 

“I’m alright, there's nothing he could do that I wouldn’t eventually recover from,” he reassured her, retracting his claws back into his knuckles, leaving little cuts that healed swiftly, disappearing in an instant. 

Iris held out her hand on her good arm, wordlessly asking him to give her his hand, remarking internally that perhaps she was still a little high from whatever meds Jean had given her. To her surprise, he complied. 

His hand was warm, and much larger than hers. She gently ran her thumb over his knuckles, where his claws had just disappeared. 

“You know, for some reason I never thought to ask you if they hurt,” she remarked softly. “Do they?” she asked, staring intently into his multifaceted green eyes. He blinked, looking away from her intense gaze. 

“Yeah. They do. I’m used to it though,” he answered. They sat together quietly for a moment. He didn’t stop letting her hold his hand. 

Their comfortable silence was interrupted when Jean and Storm entered the room. He gently removed his hand from her lap where she had been holding it. 

“Logan, I told you to call me if she woke up!” scolded Jean, quickly running to her bedside upon seeing Iris awake, and sitting up. 

“Hey, how are you feeling, hon?” asked Ororo, smiling warmly. 

“I’m alright, Storm,” lied Iris, not wanting to cause concern. 

“Thats bullshit,” interjected Logan. “She told me she feels like shit.” She glared at him, annoyed that he would expose her. He shrugged, unashamed. 

“Let me give you something to help with that,” offered Jean, smiling warmly. Realizing she wasn’t fooling anybody, Iris sighed. 

“Fine,” she agreed, and Jean administered the medication through the IV connected to her arm. She found herself yawning, growing sleepy again rather quickly. 

“Get some rest, Iris,” instructed Jean, heading back toward the door, followed by Ororo. “You need it.” Iris shot the two women a small smile as they headed through the door. 

As her eyelids got heavier, Iris held out her hand, asking silently for Logan to hold it again. He did, gently. She smiled contently, settling into her pillow. Logan used his free hand to pull her blankets back up around her. 

“Will you stay?” she mumbled sleepily. For some reason, the medication made it so much easier for her to ask for what she wanted. 

“’Course I will,” Logan promised her, sitting back down in his chair by her bedside. 

“Good,” she smiled, unable to keep her eyes open any longer. 

She was certain that Logan thought she was asleep. She was glad he thought that, because if he thought she was awake, she was almost certain he wouldn’t have pressed a soft kiss to the back of the hand he was holding. 

\---- 

Throughout her recovery, it became very clear to Iris that Logan took his promise to her that he would stay with her very seriously. Rarely did she go more than a few hours without seeing him, either on his own or with a rotating cast of visitors, all intent on wishing her a speedy recovery. 

Even when she was released from the medical facilities with strict instructions from Jean to take it easy, she found herself spending many of her waking hours with Logan. 

Something unspoken had changed between them that day when he had let her hold his hand. Iris wasn’t sure what it was, she couldn’t put words to it if she tried. All she knew was that every time she felt a fluttering sensation in her chest, and when she wasn’t with him, she was thinking about him. She wasn’t sure she could handle what the implications of that might be. 

It wasn’t until one day when they were watching Jurassic Park that she understood what was happening. They were sitting together on the couch together, laughing and joking over the movie. Somewhere along the way, Iris found herself growing sleepy. The next thing she knew, she fell asleep, curled up to Logan’s side with her head on his shoulder. 

When the movie ended, he gently shook her awake. She looked up at him groggily, and it occurred to her in that moment how badly she wanted to kiss him. So, she did. 

Logan gave a small grunt of surprise when Iris reached up and pressed her lips to his, but he didn’t protest. He kissed her back more gently than she would have assumed he was capable of. Feeling emboldened, Iris moved herself to straddle his lap and deepened the kiss, burying her hands in his hair. 

He cradled her face gently with one of her hands, and Iris felt fire coursing through her veins. Her hips ground into his lap of their own accord, and she moaned into the kiss. He gave a soft grunt, and broke the kiss, looking as though the action had taken immense effort. 

Iris leaned back to look at him, chest heaving in an attempt to catch her breath, not completely certain why he stopped her. 

“You know, I’m not good for you, Iris,” he panted, looking as though telling her this caused him real pain. “I’m jaded, dangerous, and something like 200 years old. You deserve a lot better,” he said sadly. Iris considered this for a second. 

“You know, I might not be 200 years old, but I am old enough to make my own decisions you know,” she replied. He gave her a small smile. 

“Maybe you are. But I can make my own decisions too, darlin',” he reminded her softly. Iris felt a sinking feeling in her chest at this rejection. He sighed at the wounded look she gave him, and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “Either way,” he added. “We are not making out in the media room, where the kids might see us. Or worse, Scott,” he said, wrinkling his nose at the thought in an attempt to make her laugh. Iris let out a small chuckle in response and moved off his lap to sit beside him again. 

Their conversation continued as normal after that, but internally, Iris resolved that this wasn’t over. She would have to find some way to convince him that his belief that he wasn’t good enough for her was stupid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> relationship progression? yes I do believe it's time. if I get brave the rating might jump up for the next chapter, if you catch my drift :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> kinda short filler chapter, Iris makes an attempt at getting Logan's attention

Much to Iris’s frustration, Logan had been infuriatingly normal in the weeks since the night that she had kissed him, acting as though nothing had happened at all. She felt like she must be going crazy, since when was he able to exhibit this kind of self-control? 

For a while, Iris followed his lead, going about life as normal. As she healed, she took back on her tutoring responsibilities, and started studying for her SATs with help from Professor Xavier. He had assured her that if she could successfully complete at least a bachelor’s degree, he would guarantee her a teaching position in the school, and she was determined to do it. The unfortunate byproduct of this was that Iris found herself with much fewer opportunities to spend time with Logan, which was something she desperately craved at this point. 

So when Jean officially cleared her to resume her combat training, it made her day. She thanked her with a hug and ran off to find Logan and give him the news. 

“Can’t wait to get your ass kicked again, huh?” he asked when she excitedly gave him the news, asking if they could resume their training that evening. 

“More like looking forward to kicking your ass again,” Iris responded cheekily. He shook his head at her, exasperated. 

“Well, I don’t have anything going on later. I guess we could train for a bit,” he agreed, leaning back against his doorframe, stretching with his eyes closed. 

Iris took this chance to sneakily look him up and down. He was so tall, and so perfectly muscular. It was unfair how gorgeous he was, Iris thought to herself privately. When she noticed him looking at her with a knowing smirk, she flushed red. 

“So later, same time as usual?” she asked, trying to shake off her embarrassment. 

“Sure,” agreed Logan, that same smirk not leaving his face. 

“Well, I’m supposed to go help Bobby and Rogue with their biology homework before I meet with the professor,” she said, still blushing. “I’ll see you later,” she said as she took off, fleeing from her own embarrassment. 

As she went to look for Bobby and Rogue, an idea began to form in the back of her mind. She was willing to bet that she wasn’t the only one who could get flustered. 

When she was finished with her academic responsibilities for the day, Iris rushed back to her room to get changed for her training session with Logan. Her typical training attire consisted of t-shirt and sweatpants, but today, Iris had special plans. 

She spent a moment searching through her drawers for the items she had in mind, and finding them, she threw them on and appraised her appearance in the mirror. 

She had put on the shortest pair of gym shorts that she owned, that showed off her legs and ass in a way that was, in her opinion, quite flattering. She paired these with her nicest sports bra and decided that she would forgo wearing a tank top or other shirt on top, for today. She tied her long hair into a ponytail, and after giving herself a final once over, grabbed her water bottle off her nightstand and took off to meet Logan. 

He was already waiting for her outside the mansion. He wore his typical white tank top tucked into his jeans. In Iris’s opinion, it was unfair how good he looked in a tank top, showing off his muscular arms and just enough of his broad chest to make her feel like someone had cranked the temperature up. Well, today, hopefully she wouldn’t be the only one who was a little distracted. 

As she approached, she greeted Logan with a smile and a wave. When he saw her, he froze for a moment, his eyes scanning up and down her body. He swallowed hard, and then smoothed his face back into its normal expression. 

“You ready to get started?” he asked gruffly, pointedly not looking at her. 

“Of course, I am,” replied Iris. “Are you ready to get your ass beat again?” 

“When have you ever actually beat me, Iris? I can’t seem to remember a single time,” he asked. 

“Well, we’ll see about that,” she grinned, falling into the standard defensive position he had taught her. 

Without warning, he kicked at her in a sweeping motion with his legs, successfully knocking her over. 

“Stance wasn’t wide enough,” he said, not bothering to hide his amusement. 

Iris narrowed her eyes at him. 

“So that’s how it’s gonna be,” she mumbled, more to herself than to him. She sprung up from the ground quickly. “Fine then,” she said. She lunged at him using a fair amount of her strength, successfully knocking him backwards a few feet, leaving skid marks in the grass. She grunted in frustration when he didn’t fall as easily as she did, sturdy as ever. She would have to find some way to destabilize him. 

Deciding to switch her tactics, she adjusted so that she was lighter on her feet, almost dancing around him as he took swings at her, successful dodging every one of them. Logan may be sturdy, grounded by his weight, but she was faster. 

As he took another swing at her, she saw the opportunity she was looking for. As she ducked under his arm and dodged the blow, she grabbed onto his other wrist and used her own back as leverage to flip him. Faced with her superior strength and not expecting this uncharacteristic attack of hers, Logan finally slammed down onto the grass. 

Before Iris could even begin to gloat, he grabbed hold of her ankle and yanked hard, bringing her down to the ground with him. 

“Focus,” he chastised her, and she rolled her eyes. He moved to get up. 

“No you don’t!” cried Iris, and she flipped over and pushed him back to the ground, putting a knee on his chest to pin him there. 

He tried to reach up to push her off, she wasn’t very heavy after all. Unfortunately for Logan, she was still stronger than him, and she caught his arms, pinning them down over his head. The movement caused her to naturally straddle his abdomen. She stared down at him where he was trapped, panting a little from the exertion. 

A grin broke out across her face. 

“Looks like I win,” she commented, trying to catch her breath. Logan stared back up at her, equally as breathless. His expression was unreadable. 

“You don’t plan on making this easy for me,” he asked, his voice lower than usual. A shudder ran down Iris’s body. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said flippantly, releasing his arms. She remained firmly in place, though, not willing to give up her spot just yet. 

“I don’t believe that for a second,” growled Logan, placing his large hands on her waist. 

“Hm, I wish I knew what you meant,” said Iris, in a voice that was clearly falsely confused. “Maybe then I’d be able to help you out,” she blinked down at him innocently. 

“Fuck,” he muttered softly. “You are one of the most frustrating people I have ever met.” 

“Now why would you say that?” asked Iris, still playing into her innocent charade. 

Logan exhaled a shaky breath and sat up. Iris slid off him, allowing him to get up. He offered her a hand to help her up, which she accepted. He shook his head at her, then turned to walk back to the mansion. 

“I’ll see you at the same time tomorrow, Iris,” he called back to her, not turning back. Iris watched his retreat, somewhat dumbfounded, then sighed. She’d have to try a different tactic.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris tries to make Logan jealous by going on a date. It goes poorly, and she is attacked by some of the Brotherhood. Not her best moment tbh

Maybe it was a little bit mean, but Iris was getting frustrated. So she decided to download a dating app. 

Listen, it’s not like she was proud of herself or anything, but she felt like she had to do something. Logan had been practically ignoring her outside of their combat training, which were becoming more and more infrequent. On top of that, Iris hadn’t had sex with anybody since a few weeks before coming to the mansion. That was months ago. She was, to put it plainly, very pent up. 

The plan was pretty straightforward. She’d find someone on a dating app, go on a date, and maybe even manage to get laid. If she managed to make Logan jealous in the process? That would just be a bonus. 

That’s what she told herself as she got ready for her date that evening with Lucas, a perfectly nice-looking guy who was studying at one of the nearby colleges. She threw on a simple lowcut burgundy dress, and after mulling it over for a moment pulled her black leather jacket on top. She appraised herself in the mirror, and decided she looked appropriate. 

Upon checking the time, she realized it was probably about time to call for a ride. She made her way down to the front door and pulled out her phone to summon an Uber. Just after she finished, a voice called for her attention. 

“What are you all dressed up for?” asked Logan, who was looking at her with a beer in his hand, trying to seem disinterested. Iris straightened up, knowing this was going to be the hardest part of her plan. 

“I have a date, actually,” she answered, trying to seem as aloof as possible. 

“A date,” repeated Logan, as if he was checking if he had actually heard her properly. 

“Yeah, a date,” confirmed Iris. “I’ve been so bored lately, and it’s been a while since I’ve had some real fun, so I figured I might as well.” 

Logan narrowed his eyes at her. 

“Do you find random guys to have ‘fun’ with every time you get a little bored Iris?” he asked gruffly. Iris rankled a little at this insinuation. She had hoped to make him jealous, and while that seemed to be working, she hadn’t imagined he’d say something like that. 

“What do you care, Logan? It’s not like it’s any of your business,” she spat. 

“What do I care?” he repeated incredulously. He got right up in her face. “You know god damn well why I care Iris.” 

Iris stared up at him petulantly. 

“You don’t get to have it both ways, Logan. You turned me down, so stay the fuck out of my business,” she hissed. She turned away from him and flung open the front door, slamming it behind her as she left. Her Uber had arrived, and as she climbed in, a single tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, then greeted her driver with a smile. 

\--- 

Lucas was a perfectly nice guy, as it turned out. He was interesting, funny, kind, and very attractive. But Iris’s heart simply wasn’t in it, and she spent the duration of the date distracted, giving one-word answers to questions and not really giving him her whole attention. 

“You don’t really want to be here right now, do you?” Lucas finally asked when Iris responded “yes” when asked what she did for a living. 

Iris sighed, trying to arrange her expression to show genuine remorse. 

“I’m sorry Lucas,” she apologized. “You’re a great guy, I just have a lot on my mind right now.” 

“It’s okay,” he said, clearly disappointed. He left soon after that, leaving Iris at the bar by herself. She ordered herself a couple shots of tequila and threw them back in quick succession. 

She ordered another drink. If she was going to be miserable, she thought to herself, she might as well be drunk, too. 

This whole thing had been a terrible idea, and she should have known it from the start. She had accomplished basically nothing, aside from making Logan mad at her. She was angry with him too, but she was also reasonable enough to understand that the whole situation was her fault. 

She drank at the bar until she felt good and tipsy, and then settled her tab, giving the bartender a generous tip. She may be drunk, but she still remembered how much shitty tippers sucked when she was a bartender. 

It was dark out when she stepped out onto the busy sidewalk outside the bar. It was 11pm on a Friday night, for everybody else the evening was just getting started. Iris considered calling an Uber immediately, but decided against it. Fresh air would do her some good, and so she decided to walk for a little bit. 

She took off in a random direction, not familiar enough with her surroundings to know where she was going and not sober enough to orient herself properly. A cool breeze went by, and she shivered, pulling her leather jacket more snugly around her. 

After a while, Iris was beginning to think that maybe walking hadn’t been her best idea. It felt like the world was spinning, and if she was being honest with herself, she was starting to feel a little bit sick. Just as she thought that she should look for somewhere to throw up, she noticed she was being followed. 

There were four of them, three men and a woman. Each of them had tattoos on their faces, clearly indicating them to be mutants. 

“Jesus,” said the woman, giving her a once over. “She’s a fuckin mess.” 

“Makes our job easier, doesn’t it?” agreed one of the men, laughing. 

“What,” Iris paused, trying to suppress her urge to vomit. “What do you want?” she managed to get out. The world was still spinning, she noticed with annoyance. 

“We’re gonna need you to come with us and talk to the boss, nice and easy,” said the largest of the mutants. “Wouldn’t want anybody to get hurt, would we?” he threatened. 

“Fuck off,” spat Iris, unable to come up with a more eloquent statement in her current state. 

“Magneto said she probably wouldn’t come of her own accord,” said the other mutant. He had horns sticking out all over his skull, and the whites of his eyes were black. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” insisted Iris, beginning to panic a little. 

“Sure, sweetie,” said the female mutant sarcastically, reaching out to grab her arm. Without even thinking about it, Iris grabbed and twisted her arm with all her might, causing it to make a sickening popping noise. The woman yelled out in pain, and Iris shoved her back into one of the others, knocking them both to the ground. The motion had created a large rip in the sleeve of Iris’s jacket. 

“Fuck,” Iris swore. “This is my favourite fucking jacket,” she complained. The remaining two mutants turned on her. 

She took off running, and it was as though the ground was swaying beneath her. The two mutants easily caught up to her. One of them spat at her, and a thick, sticky substance covered her right foot, sticking her right shoe firmly to the ground. The two men bore down on her. She punched one in the nose, shattering it. She kicked out at the other, hitting him square in-between the legs. He crumpled to the ground in pain. 

She fought to free her foot, and deciding it was too much effort to unstick it, decided to abandon her shoe, sliding it off her foot and leaving it there as she ran from her attackers before they could regroup. She didn’t stop running for a while, until she was fully out of breath. 

She walked up to the nearest trash can and promptly hurled in it. 

“Hey, you!” a voice called, and she turned to face its owner. 

“What now?” she whined, wishing more than ever to back in her bed. 

“Have you been drinking this evening ma’am?” asked the owner of the voice. It was a police officer. Oh, for fuck’s sake, thought Iris to herself. This was the last thing she needed right now. 

\------------------

Well, thought Iris to herself as she sat in the drunk tank at the police station. At least I should be safer from Magneto’s people in here. 

She was waiting for Storm, who had assured her she was coming as fast as she could to pick her up. When the police had asked her if she wanted to make a call to someone, her immediate thought had been Logan. Embarrassment had caused her to think better of it, and she had called Ororo instead. 

To Iris’s chagrin, Ororo was not alone when she arrived. She walked in, accompanied by Professor Xavier, who glided in on his wheelchair behind her. 

“Storm,” whined Iris. “Why did you tell the professor?” 

“Sorry sweetie, I had no choice,” responded Ororo. “Especially when you said that you had been attacked by the brotherhood.” 

“How are you feeling, Iris?” asked Charles, not unkindly. 

“Excuse my language Professor, but I feel like shit,” admitted Iris. 

“Well, I say we get you out of here now,” said Storm. 

“Yes,” agreed Charles. “Besides, we need to talk.” 

Iris blushed crimson in shame. She worried that the Professor must be so disappointed in her, which is the last thing she had wanted. 

When she was released into Ororo and Charles’s care and secured safely into the back seat of Ororo’s car, Charles spoke. 

“I know you aren’t feeling well, so the first thing I want to make clear is that I am not upset with you, Iris,” he said. Relief washed over Iris at this reassurance. The car started moving, and Iris took a deep breath, trying not to let the motion affect her. 

“If you can’t speak aloud right now that’s perfectly alright,” continued Charles, “But I need you to think about as much as you can remember about tonight’s events, so I can see what happened.” 

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride as Iris went over the night’s events in her mind. She felt so stupid about it all now. What had made her think this was a good idea? 

When they arrived back at the mansion, Ororo helped her out of the car carefully. 

“Well Iris,” said Charles. “We have a lot to discuss, but it can wait until you are feeling better. Go get some rest, we will talk tomorrow” 

“Thanks Professor,” mumbled Iris. 

Ororo helped Iris into the mansion. 

“We should stop and get some water into you,” said Ororo, more to herself than to Iris. She led Iris to the kitchen. Logan sat there, drinking a beer and talking to Rogue. They both fell silent as they entered the room. Storm immediately went about grabbing her a glass of water. 

Logan’s eyes flitted from Iris’s face to the rip on her jacket. 

“What the fuck happened to you?” he asked, brows drawn together. 

“Mind your own business Logan,” slurred Iris. 

“Are you drunk?” he asked incredulously. 

“Now’s not the time for this you two,” scolded Storm, handing Iris a glass of water. “Drink,” she instructed. Iris drank deeply from the glass, the cool water serving to clear her head marginally. Some of the bad taste from vomiting earlier went away, too. 

“What happened to your jacket?” asked Rogue, concerned. 

“It’s fine,” said Iris. “Ran into some of Magneto’s people, they said he wanted something from me. But I’m okay” 

“Magneto sent people after you?” Logan asked sharply, standing up. 

“I said I’m fine,” is all Iris said in response. “Storm, do you mind helping me to bed? I’m really tired,” she asked. 

“Sure,” said Storm, offering a steadying hand. 

It wasn’t until Iris was back in her room, in bed, that she began to cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmmmmm ok next chapter the rating is definitely going up I promise, I'm like halfway through writing it rn
> 
> update December 3rd- I am still working on this story, but I'm a 3rd year university student and it's exam season right now. By the end of next week I should have time to resume writing again :)

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written anything since I was in high school, so this may be a little rough at first lol  
> I don't have a beta so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes!
> 
> the title of this work is from one of Lana Del Rey's poems, it's not mine lol


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